Page 1707 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 18 May 1994
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Mr Humphries: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Mr Berry is really going very close to the wind. He is suggesting that I have been duplicitous, which I ask him to withdraw, and that I have misled, which I also ask him to withdraw.
MR BERRY: No; you misled me. It is hardly an imputation against your character.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Humphries, I think, as you have aptly said, it is very close to the wind, but it is not actually an imputation against you.
MR BERRY: You misled me on that score, because Mr Kaine jumped up in this chamber and said that you had not talked to him; that he was not aware of this. You said to me that you were going to talk to everybody.
Mr Humphries: I did talk to everybody.
MR BERRY: Who is telling the big ones here?
Mr Humphries: Madam Speaker, Mr Berry has suggested that people are telling big ones - obviously a reference to lies. He is suggesting that it was said by me or Mr Kaine. One of us has had used against us language that is against the standing orders, and I ask that it be withdrawn.
MR BERRY: I withdraw. Somebody is dealing with the facts fairly loosely here. On the one hand, Mr Kaine says that he has not been spoken to and, on the other hand, Mr Humphries says that he has been. I do not suppose that it matters whether we get to the bottom of that or not because it is never going to change the Liberals anyway. One of the things that interest me about this debate is that you would think this would be a hotly contested position. If you have a look at the behaviour of the Liberals, we have two people who have not spoken, but they all seem to have a different view. For anybody who wanted to be Manager of Government Business here, you have to deal with five sections of the Liberal Party. We know that to be leader of the Liberal Party you have to have only two votes. That is clear: Two votes and you are right. The rest vote for themselves. That is the way it works over there.
Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Madam Speaker: I think it might be appropriate - - -
Mr Cornwell: You did not have nine when you wanted them, Wayne.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! I would like to hear Mr Kaine.
Mr Kaine: It might be appropriate to direct the backbench member over there to stick to the point. There is a thing called relevance, and what he is talking about has nothing to do with the motion before us. He is just ranting and raving, and if he cannot stick to the subject perhaps we ought to put the matter to the vote. I will move so if he does not sit down or behave reasonably.
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